My ramblings....about dating after 50, RVing, motorcycles, quirky places-people-things and anything else about life in general.
My motto:
"I want to be an outrageous old woman who never gets called an old lady. I want to get leaner & meaner, sharp edged & earth colored till I fade away from pure joy." ~unknown

Sunday, June 17, 2007

In my quest to return to RVing, whether part or full-time remains to be seen, I have been keeping an eye out for a motorcycle that might be better suited to that lifestyle. That meant lighter weight and better handling in dirt, grass and gravel.

Because I'm in-seam impaired (read SHORT) I was finding lots of bikes where I could flat-foot but all were cruisers like my current bike, Harley-Davidson® Softail® Deluxe. This meant that I might save a couple hundred pounds but not much improvement playing in the dirt.

Well, someone was watching over me....for some reason I did an eBay search on BMW motorcycles and noticed a 2006 F650GS listed. The price was decent, the bike was factory lowered, had ABS and heated grips as well as hard-bags. For some reason the seller's name looked familiar so I emailed the gal that knew the guy I suspected had the listing, even thought the listing was expired. I was right and I learned more about the bike. It was owned by a lady BMW rider who was spending most of her time on her big BMW and decided to sell.

Long story short....I got the bike (and for less than the eBay listed price). Now I have to make arrangements to get it from Houston to here in TN. Oh, and then I have to learn how to ride it and be sure I can be comfortable. I doubt I will flat-foot it but hope to be close enough that I can deal okay....it's almost 300# less than my Deluxe and the seat should be narrower. I can look at shaving the seat a bit and as a last resort, I can have lifts added to my boots.

The seating position will be more like my first two bikes since it has mid-controls. Not sure about the handlebars since I've never sat on this model, time will tell. Oh, and it will get 10-15 mpg more than the Deluxe....AND, if I keep it and sell the Deluxe I should be able to bank at least $8k difference.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll blog when I go get the bike, who I've already named "Junior" (at least until he tells me his full name).

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

It all started out so innocently. I was setting up a client's new laptop. It came with Vista and already had the Google Desktop installed and she was running the sidebar.

"How annoying", I thought. Computer snob that I am, I hate to give up any desktop space to something I feel isn't necessary. But since it was HER computer, I left it there. Well, before the day was over, I found myself interested in checking it out for my office computer (large monitor with lots of room).

I downloaded the software...nice look, not as slick as on Vista but still very nice. The first thing I did was have the photos start to rotate through the folder I had with pictures from my 2005 motorcycle trips across the country. Nice!

The notepad turned out handy for those little things I was putting on Post-it notes and sticking all over my desk. The To Do list I found I could use alone or link to my Outlook tasks. Next came the calendar...several tries to find one I liked. Oh, and had to add the weather...

From time to time I would search for new gadgets, switch things around, try new ones, get rid of them and try another. I've added a great digital clock, a volume control bar and a system performance bar.

One day I was checking out the "fun" tools and found my perfect pet....a little tree frog. I got to personalize him with blue eyes and red feet (you get to leave him all green or choose various colors for eyes and feet) and I found the perfect background for him....lilypads (imagine that).

When I'm bored or need to break, he follows my cursor around his lilypad home. Cute! Well, last week he got better....he was upgraded and I can now feed him flies. As I click my cursor little green flies are released and he moves after them zaps them with his tongue. Really got a laugh out of that.

After a week or two I realized that I felt like I was feeding my pet and felt guilty if I hadn't given him some flies that day! Oh my....this is like having a pet. Then I realized that this was the best pet....I never have to clean up after him, he's easy to take care of, I can talk to him and if I ignore him he'll never die.

Monday, June 04, 2007

It's been nagging at me for over a month. I'm in a rut and seem to be settling into it way too easily.

My weekdays are the same.....alarm goes off, hit snooze for half an hour, fall back asleep, get up with the second alarm goes off. Shower, head to work, work through a lunch at my desk, leave work and head home. Hit McDonald's for an Asian Salad with grilled chicken and Newman's Own Balsamic Vinegarette dressing and a senior cup of coffee (50 cent coffee). Get a coffee refill and a low-fat ice cream cone while I read for an hour. Head home again, check the mail, toss everything on the counter, settle onto the sofa, check caller ID and voicemail, turn on the laptop and TV. Next thing I know, it's after midnight and past my bedtime once more.

The weekends aren't much different....I try to get a few things done around the house but for some reason have been having a really hard time motivating myself. I do the critical things and the rest waits.

I'm in a rut and seem to be sinking deeper. While chatting with a new friend from Knoxville, the subject of RVing dreams came up again. I explained my whole history and why I wasn't full-timing. The talk seemed to have set some things in motion....

This past week I have spent a lot of time getting back into the RVing world - forums, magazines, books, etc. It is really calling to me, telling me to get out of this rut and do what I proclaim I have been doing (but for the last year haven't).

Life is truly too short, so I've made a decision....whether I sell, rent or leave the house empty is still undecided. But come September when I start receiving my widow's Social Security in addition to Mike's small pension income, I will hit the road. It may be part-time while I work part-time or it may be full-time. It will most probably be in a vintage (OLD) motorhome and I will, for now, pull a small trailer with my Harley for local transportation.

Down the road....only time will tell. But the decision has been made, the notebook for developing the plan has been started, the countdown is ticking! Before I know it, I will be ON THE ROAD AGAIN!